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From a friend of
the IMPAC-Connecticut State University Young Writers Trust:
This is sad news. Bill Cibes is one of those rare, great humans. He has a sensitivity.... and a soul that has not been lost.
They might as well rewrite the job description because the University System will not find anyone like Bill.
Maybe we'll see more of him.
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STORY IN HARTFORD COURANT FOLLOWS:
Cibes To Retire As CSU Chancellor
By ROBERT A. FRAHM
Courant Staff Writer
July 15 2005
William J. Cibes Jr., chancellor of the Connecticut State University, will retire in February after 12 years on the job, he announced Thursday.
University officials said they will begin a national search for Cibes' successor at CSU, the state's largest university with more than 35,000 students on campuses in New Britain, New Haven, Willimantic and Danbury.
A former state representative from New London, he ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1990. He became budget director under Gov. Lowell P. Weicker Jr. and was considered the key architect in creating the state's income tax. In 1994, he became the CSU system president, a title later changed to chancellor.
"I don't think I've had a more gratifying career than this one," Cibes said Thursday, "but there comes a time you reach retirement age, after so many years in state service, you get the feeling it's time to go." Cibes will be 62 in August.
Cibes' wife, Margaret, retired last year from her job as a math instructor at the University of Hartford. "I think it's been good for her," Cibes said. "We think we'd like to retire together."
Enrollment at CSU slipped during the early 1990s but began rebounding by the end of the decade and now includes a record number of full-time students. Like other public colleges, CSU saw costs rise sharply while the state budget grew tighter, resulting in large tuition increases between 2002 and 2004.
Cibes presided over a renovation of the system's campuses as the legislature poured money into rebuilding all of the state's public colleges, including about $850 million over 10 years at CSU.
Cibes also was a strong advocate for the use of technology in classrooms and oversaw the start of online classes at the university.
He said Thursday that the nature of college education has changed and that students, more than ever, require skills in critical thinking, analysis and communication. "The knowledge economy of the future requires a college graduate with competencies a bit different than those required 30 years ago," he said.
Gov. M. Jodi Rell said Cibes "has had an extraordinary career in public service in the legislature, as the state's chief budget officer and as chancellor of the Connecticut State University. He has made an immeasurable contribution to our state and his leadership and passion for public service will be deeply missed."
An Associated Press report was included in this story.